The Seventh Trumpet, Part 2

Turn with me to Revelation chapter 11. Revelation chapter 11. The blowing of the seventh trumpet. Ushers in the reign of Christ forever. And that's the answer to the prayer, Thy kingdom come. Now, I want you to think about that for a moment because, you know, in our prayer life, it's pretty weak. It's pretty nasty if you really were to get down. To the nuts and bolts of our prayer life. I mean, we're kind of floundered around on how to pray and what to pray for and you know how to line our will up with God's will.

And that's why we did this series on the disciples' prayer so that we'd understand what it means to pray as God wants us to pray. But I'm convinced that most of us are not too concerned about the kingdom of Christ and his rule. Because it kind of interferes with our own personal kingdom and our ruling in our own lives, you see. But if you're really serious about prayer and you're really serious about God ruling, you are anticipating that day that Christ comes and sets up his kingdom. You are anticipating that date because it is at that day you will reap your full reward, and we'll talk about that in a moment because that's part of the seventh trumpet as well.

But as we look at this seventh trumpet that ushers in the reign of Christ, we look first of all last week at the significance of the seventh trumpet.

We move from there to talk about the substance of the seventh trumpet. And we've talked about it last week by emphasizing the rejoicing. The seventh trumpet. There is praise in heaven at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. Why? Because God is almighty, He is the Almighty One. He is the one with sovereign absolute power. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to whomever he wants, wherever he wants, however he wants, because he is the king. And he is the one who art and who was. But the text does not say who is to come.

The reason being is because he's already there, he has come. It's spoken of. In the fact that it is a sure ev. And now he has begun to reign. Now, understand this. There is rejoicing in heaven. But point number two, there is rage on the earth.

I had rebellion in your notes. I changed that to rage. It says what? And the nations were enra. Why are the nations enraged? Because they don't want Christ to rule over them. They don't want that kind of kingdom. They don't want that kind of king. So the nations now are enraged. So in the seventh trumpet, what do you have? You have rejoicing in heaven. You have rage. On the earth, people are enraged. They don't want this king, this lamb, this messiah, to rule. This is the fulfillment of Psalm 2, which by the way is a messian psalm.

Listen to what it says, Psalm 2, verse number 1. Why are the nations in an uproar? Why are the nations enraged and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed one. That's the Christ. Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens laughs, and the Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury. But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.

The Lord scoffs at them. Why does He scoff at them? Why does He laugh at them? Why does He ridicule them? Because they have no power to come against the Almighty One. And Christ says, and God says, I have anointed my Son, my holy one, to sit on the throne that I have established for him.

His kingdom will come. His kingdom will be established forever and ever. And you can't do anything about it. And yet, these people are enraged over the fact. That Christ not only wants to rule, but now is ruling. Turn with me over to Revelation chapter sixteen for a moment.

This describes their utter resentment. Look what it says in verse number 12. The sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river of the Euphrates, and its water was dried up. That the way might be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are spirits of demons performing signs, which go out to the kings of the who world to gather them together for the war of the great day of God the Almighty.

Now, listen very carefully. When the sixth angel pours out his plague, this plague dries up the great river the Euphrates. When we get to Revelation 16, we'll talk about the significance of that. And what's so big about drying up a little river that's only 32 feet wide at its biggest part? Well, there's very significant things that happened before that that caused that river to swell way beyond 32 feet. But anyway, he comes back. All the kings of the earth are gathered together. The whole world has gathered together in a place that they want to fight the great God.

It's the great day of the Almighty One. It says down at verse number 16, and they gathered them together to the place which in the Hebrew is called Har Megiddon or the valley of Megiddo. Having been there, having seen that valley, a mammoth valley, you begin to understand how the kings of the world will gather together literally thousands, maybe even millions of people. To fight against the king. Now, note, all the people who gather, all right? Who gather together because they've been drawn together by demonic influence have already been scorched by the sun because that plague's already been poured out, they've been burned.

You ever been badly sunburned? It's nothing like these people. They're going to be scorched by the sun. They're going to have sores on them, cancerous ulcers on them that are open pussy oozing out of them. These people are going to be beyond. Recognition, and they're all going to come together to fight God. They're so enraged. They're so angry. They will not repent. Amazing scenario. In fact, look what it says in verse number 8. And the fourth. Angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.

And men were scorched with Fierce heat, and they blaspheme the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. They've already got the sores on them because that happens with the first angel with the loathsome malignant sores upon men who worship the beast.

Now God scorches them. Z! He sizzles them, man. They're all sizzling. Now they're all on fire. They can't even contain themselves. But instead of repenting, what do they do? They blaspheme the God of Israel. They are so angry with him that all they can do is gather together to fight against him. They don't repent of their sin. They're enraged. That's why when the seventh trumpet blows, you see the rage of the world. You don't see repentance. You see they're wanting to kill the king. And thus the seven trum tells us about the rejoicing.

Number two, the rage. Number three, the retribution. The retribution. It says, and thy wrath. Came. Revelation 11, verse number 18. Thy wrath came. A general statement. God's wrath has already come. But it comes in a more severe kind of way. And if we had time, and maybe I should take you back to Isaiah 24 just for a moment to show you about how Isaiah saw this day. Isaiah 2, verse number 17, Terror and pit and snare confront you, O inhabitant of the earth. Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit.

And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows above are opened and the foundations of the earth shake. There's no place for you to go. You can't run. You can't hide. There's no place to go. Because the whole earth shakes. You fall into a pit? You climb out, you fall into another pit. You can't go anywhere. Because God is shaking the entire earth. The earth is broken asunder. The earth is split through. The earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard and it totter like a shack.

For its transgressions is heavy upon it, and it will fall, never to rise again. So it will happen in that day that the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high. And the kings of the earth on earth, and they will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon and will be confined in prison. And after many days they will be punished, then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed. For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and his Glory will be before his elders. Thy kingdom has come.

The king himself reigns. You can read about it in Isaiah 26, verses 20 and 21, when it says this: Come, my people, enter into your rooms and close your doors behind you. Hide for a little while until indignation runs its course. For behold, the Lord is about to come out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer cover her slain. Go on and read Revelation, excuse me, Isaiah 30, verses 27 to 37. The text says, Thy wrath came.

Is spoken of again with that pro heiress that says it's a sure thing, it's a certain event, the wrath of God came. God is going to judge his enemies. The dead will be judged. In the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20, verses 11 to 15, when all the books are open, man will stand there without excuse. And the unbeliever will stand before God and be judged. It says down in the latter part of verse number 18: Thy wrath came to destroy those who destroy the earth. That's how God perceives the unbeliever.

People who destroy the earth because they have polluted it with sin. People who are unbelievers, the Antichrist, Satan him, the destroyer. Sin will be so bad during the age of the tribulation, corruption so high that God will destroy this whole earth and create a new ear. Sin during the tribulation will be so bad, so rampant, it will engulf everyone who's not a believer. That's why in Revelation 18, the command is given to the believer: come out of Babylon. Get out of there before it's too late. In a similar way, Lot was told in Genesis 19, get out of Sodom.

Get out of there before it's too late because it's going to be a destruction. A similar command is given in Revelation 18 to the believers who are there: get out before it's too late. And Revelation 18 talks about how people will be able to stand from a distance and watch the burning of the great city Babylon, which I believe will be a literal city that will be rebuilt. People will stand from a distance and watch it burn and lament and mourn over the fact that the system, the hub of the system, has been destroyed by God Almighty.

Over in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, it talks about this wrath that came. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse number 8. When Christ comes in all of his glory with his mighty angels in flaming fire, it says in verse number eight, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel. Of our Lord Jesus, and these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he comes to be glorified in his saints.

On that day. That day he comes in the blowing of the seventh trumpet. So, there's rejoicing, there's rage, there's retribution. Number four, there's reward. There's reward, it says. My wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy bonds, the prophets. And to the saints, and to those who fear thy name, the sm and the great. John sees the blowing of the seventh trumpet. The reward for the believer. The reward for everybody who's given their life to Christ.

The small and the great, the bonds, the prophets, those who proclaim the word of God, those who live for God, those who fear the name of God. And that's the characteristic of the believer anyway, right? Because those who are unbelievers, they have no fear of God. That's why they are enraged with him. That's why they gather together in the valley of Megiddo. They don't fear God. There is no fear before their eyes. Romans chapter 1 tells us that the unbeliever has no fear before him of God. They don't fear God.

They gather together to fight against God. They think they can actually beat God. But the believer knows the dread of God. They know the fear of God. That's why they are characterized. By those who fear his name. In fact, Revelation 14, with the angel that flies around in mid, what does he say? He says this. And I saw another angel flying am heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. And he said with a loud voice, What?

Fear God! That's what it means to be saved. Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come. And worship Him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and springs of water. Fear God. That's the eternal gospel. That's the gospel that's preached. Fear God. But there is a reward. A reward giving for the saints, retribution for the sinners, the reward. For the saints. Remember, it talks about in John chapter 5, verse number 25. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live.

In verse number 27, And he gave him authority, that is Christ, to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tomb shall hear his voice, and shall come forth those who did good deeds. To the resurrection of life and those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. So, when it speaks about here in Revelation 11 that the dead are to be judged, I believe that speaks of all the dead. Not only the believing dead, but the unbelieving dead.

And for the unbelieving dead, the wrath of God will come down upon them, and they will be set apart in eternal damnation forever. But those who are believers will be rewarded. And we know a lot about rewards. The Bible speaks of them. 2 Timothy 4:8 speaks of the crown of righteousness. James:, the crown of life. 1 Peter :, the crown of glory. Those are given to the bonds, to the prophets, to those who fear the name of God. But it goes beyond that. Why? Because in thy pres is full of joy, right? Is pleasure forevermore.

Listen, folks, when Christ comes back and we go home to be with him, the full reward. Doesn't really happen until his kingdom is established, and that's after the tribulation. That's when he comes in all of his glory, and we come with him with his mighty angels. And he fights that great battle at Armageddon. He sets up his kingdom, and we rule and reign with him for a thousand years, liberty forever and ever, beyond that. And that is the fullness of our reward. To be in his presence, to see exactly what he wants to give us as his children.

Matthew 25 speaks of that, right? Of the sheep-goat judgment. Matthew 25, it says these words. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. From the foundation of the world, I have prepared for you a kingdom, because the apex of all human history is the kingdom of God. The greatest thing in all the world is the kingship of Christ, His rulership upon this earth. That the whole world recognizes that He is king.

And so when Christ comes back, he puts the goats on his left and the sheep on his right after he splits the Mount of Olives and fights the battle of Armageddon, which is going to happen, by the way, instantaneously. They're all gathered together for this big battle. They think it's going to last for days upon end, and it's going to be over. Like a firecracker that forgot to go off. It's over, it's done. Christ puts the goats on his left, the sheep on his right. He says, What? Enter into the kingdom that I prepared for you before the foundation of the world.

This has been going on an eternity past, man. This kingdom is so great, I thought about it way back in eternity past. I prepared it in eternity past. That's how great this kingdom is. And I prepared it for you because I chose you in eternity past. Now you can have it. Now it's yours. Now you have the fullness of your reward. Everything you've longed for, everything you prayed for, because you have prayed for thy kingdom to come, everything that you've wanted, now is yours. It's yours. Take it. I'm giving it to you because I promise it to you.

What a great God we serve. What a great reward He wants to give us. And with that then comes, fifthly, a reminder. That's in verse number 19. And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened. And the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailst. This is a reminder. This is very good. There are several things that are open in heaven, seven, to be exact, excuse me, open in the book of Revelation.

Chapter 4, verse number 1: There was a door that was opened. Chapter 6, the seals were opened. Chapter 9, the abyss was opened. Chapter 11, right here, the Temple of God is opened. Chapter 15, the Tabernacle of Testimony is opened. Chapter 19, heaven is opened. Chapter 20, the books of judgment are opened. Seven openings in the book of Revelation. And this one is the opening of the temple of God. It's tremendous imagery that reminds us of something. That's why we've called this the reminder in the seventh trumpet.

It rem us of the promise given to believers, are you ready for this? Of the unbroken fellowship of God. That really is the reward that's given, but it's a reminder to us of the joy above. Number one, and the judgment below, number two, with the earthquake and the peals of thunder and the lightning.

But notice, in the midst of judgments. Of un upon the earth, amidst their rage, God reminds the believer of his promise: the Ark of the Covenant. Maybe you saw Indian Jones in the Lost Ark. They never found the Lost Ark because that ain't the Ark. Didn look in the right place. The ark's in heaven. Indiana Jones doesn't have access to heaven. So he's never going to find it. But that's where the Ark of the Covenant is. It's in heaven. It's in the Temple of God. Remember, in the Temple of God, In ancient times, the Ark of Covenant was there.

High priests would go in in the Holy of Holies once a year, and he would, of course, sprinkle blood. And of course that would represent as the smoke went up out of there and the people were on the outside praying because they could not get into the Holy of Holies, the fact that their sins were covered. It was a promise of unending fellowship with God that one day He was going to usher them into His kingdom. And they would have that unbroken fellowship. As you recall, within that ark, there were three things.

Number one, there was a law written on tablets of stone. Number two, there was Aaron's rod that butted.

And number three, there was a pot of manna. All three things represent the fact that God would always supply the needs of his people. The fact of the law of the tablets written on the stone was a reminder of the standard of God. Aaron's rod that budded was a reminder of the sovereignty of God, and the pot of manna was a reminder of the sufficiency of God. People were always reminded that in the Ark of the Covenant contained the promise, the plan, the purpose, and represented the presence of God. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God, and now the temple of God is opened, and God is saying, Come.

Come. Une communion, unending fellowship is now yours from here on out. It's yours. I'm giving it to you. He's open to all men who is a believer access. To His unending pres, His unending power, His unending fellowship, unending communion. He wants us with H. It's a reminder of the joy before us. That's a good reminder, isn it? God wants us with Him. God wants us to long for His pres. Which leads us to our last point, our response. Over in Second Peter.

Chapter 3, we read these words. Verse number 10: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away. With a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are going to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? Here's our response. Knowing that the seventh trumpet's going to blow, know that there's going to be rejoicing in heaven, for the Almighty God reigns. Knowing that there's going to be rage upon earth, and man is going to be so infuriated with what Jesus Christ is going to do.

Knowing that there's going to be retribution dealt out to man because of his sin, because God is going to judge the dead. Knowing that there's going to be reward given to man because of his faithfulness to God and those who love him, and that there's a reminder of the joy above and judgment below, what's our response? What kind of people ought we to be knowing that this is the way things are going to take place? What kind of people ought we to be? Holy people. God people. That 's the way we ought to be.

Living the kind of life that God wants us to live. That's our response to the seventh trumpet. Knowing that one day it's going to happen, God, what can I do now to live the kind of life you want me to live? Not only that I might receive my full reward when I get to heaven, but that other people around me would see the reign of Christ in me. I serve the King of glory. And that they might understand more of that King by how I live my life. That's our response. Is yours one of rejection or one of recept?

If your response is one of rejection, then you will be enraged with God. And you will feel his retribution. But if yours is one of reception, then you will receive. Not only the reward from God, but you will be one who rejoices with those in heaven over the fact that our God reigns supreme.